They show, he wasn't located there at the time he hit the Sherman. Here are the original movie scenes I took the still photos from and I zoomed the area where the Panther later stood with my video software. So, where was the Panther located when he had hit the Sherman ? In the background there's no Panther shortly before (right) and shortly after the hit (left), where one can see the Panther on the Silk photo later. He is really good to see there.Įxcerpt of a picture made by George Silk, Life MagazinĪnd now a comparison with movie sequences before and after the hits: On the right side there's the Sherman and in background the burning Panther at street crossing Marzellenstrasse.

It shows the Sherman and in background the german Panther, which had hit the Sherman. There's a picture taken by George Silk when the battle at the cathedral was over. In the lower part one can guess the missing piece of the shield. You can see very well the demolition edge in the upper part. The picture on the right shows a view from obliquely behind. On the two left pictures in color the area in which the shield was deformed or blown off. A member of the crew, tank commander Kellner, tries to flee out of the tank.

Suddenly a shell from a German Panther tank hits the leading US tank. One M4A1W76 Sherman tank (right) and one M4A3W75 Sherman tank (left) from F Co, 32nd A.R., 3rd AD are standing on Komödienstrasse next to street Andreaskloster (at the left side).

On the Komödienstraße there is a lot of debris, but the cupolas of two tanks surpass the debris. Image montage: the US-tanks approaching the cathedral square can not be overlooked by the Germans. They have to stop only 120 m / 395 ft away from the place where the street leads into the central square. Big mountains of rubble on the Komödienstrasse prevent the further advance of the tank group. This page will show you the famous tank battle at the Cologne cathedral.Ĭoming from western city districts, passing the city areas around Venloer Strasse, Friesenplatz, Friesenstrasse and Zeughausstrasse, a group of several US-tanks approach the central square in front of the cathedral. The following minutes will produce some of the most dramatic combat images to come out of WWII. The 3rd Armored Division tanks advance on the Cologne center and the cathedral.

Tank battle of cologne